


In the Future the Velociraptors were an Unexpected Development

by Persiflage



Series: Kissing Prompts [7]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Give Michael all the TLC, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Light Angst, POV Character of Color, Post-Season/Series 02, Tenderness, The Goodness of Michael Burnham's Heart, Velociraptors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 07:26:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19146307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: Post S2: Michael gets hurt on an Away Mission. Philippa offers her comfort.





	In the Future the Velociraptors were an Unexpected Development

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Kissing Prompt: _when one person’s face is scrunched up, and the other one kisses their lips/nose/forehead_.

Michael Burnham’s face is screwed up with the pain she’s experiencing, and the Terran Philippa Georgiou turns to Doctor Pollard and demands, “Isn’t there anything else you can do to help her?”

“I’ve done all that I can,” Pollard says, and although she’s clearly irritated at being asked this question, Georgiou can also sense how much it matters to her that she cannot do any more to help. 

The doctor seems to sense that Georgiou doesn’t want her company, because she gets up and moves to the co-pilot’s seat of the shuttle where she begins a quiet conversation with Reno. Georgiou leans in to Michael’s space and smoothes her hand over the young woman’s forehead, hoping her touch will help. 

They’re on their way back to the _Discovery_ following one of their fact-finding trips to a nearby M-class planet – ever since they came to the future Saru has been sending the _Discovery_ ’s crew out in little parties to investigate any time they come to an M-class planet, and it had been Michael’s turn to lead such an Away team. Which she’d done successfully, but they hadn’t found any signs of humanoid lifeforms; unfortunately, the same atmospheric disturbances that had blocked the ship’s scanners from letting them know if there were humanoids on the planet had also blocked their scanners from letting anyone know that there were eight-foot tall velociraptor-like bird creatures down there. And while they were exploring in two-person teams, one of the creatures had surprised Reno and Pollard. Michael had drawn its attention in order to allow the other two women to escape back to the shuttle, reasoning that she was a fast enough runner for her to be able to reach the shuttle quickly once they were secure. What neither Michael nor anyone else had anticipated was that the creature would be smart enough to figure out her strategy, and while Reno and Pollard had made it back to the shuttle safely, it had chased Michael sooner, and nothing Georgiou could do worked to distract it from going after the young woman. In the end she’d had to board the shuttle and use its weapons to blast the velociraptor, then beam Michael aboard.

She glances up the length of the shuttle to where Pollard and Reno are talking, then leans down and presses her lips to Michael’s scrunched up features, moving in a line down from her forehead to her nose, and then to her mouth. Then she clasps both of Michael’s hands in her own and wills Reno to get shuttle back to _Discovery_ faster.

* * * *

Hours later, the former Emperor lets herself into Michael’s quarters, relieved that she and Ensign Tilly are no longer sharing since these days the crew complement is only a third of what it once was. Michael lifts her head from her pillow as she crosses towards the young woman’s bed, then relaxes again.

“Philippa,” she says, sounding weary – which the Terran knows is down to her exhaustion from the day she’s had, not weariness at her presence.

“Michael,” she says, sitting on the side of the bed. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” she says. “I’m just tired, that’s all.” She shifts awkwardly against her pillows, and Georgiou helps her to sit up. “I understand I have you to thank for saving my life.”

“Not just me,” Georgiou says, “If the Doctor hadn’t patched you up, and if Reno hadn’t piloted the shuttle –”

“You were the one who destroyed the velociraptor,” Michael says. She grabs Georgiou’s left wrist in her right hand as they face each other, and tugs Georgiou forward. She has to brace herself with her right hand so that she doesn’t topple onto Michael, then the young woman’s mouth finds her own. Michael’s kisses are eager, while Georgiou’s are hungry but she restrains herself, and when Michael wraps an arm around Georgiou’s shoulders pulling her closer still, she doesn’t try to resist, letting the young woman cuddle her.

“This would be easier and less uncomfortable if you lay down beside me,” Michael observes after a few moments.

Georgiou huffs a laugh, then leans back and when Michael releases her, she gets up and pulls off her coat and boots, then settles onto bed beside her, encouraging Michael to snuggle in close.

There had been a time when she would have positively discouraged such behaviour, but a lot has changed in the year and a half since Michael dragged her from her supposedly ‘glorious’ death aboard the _ISS Charon_ , and most of those changes are because of this young woman. She has grown more and more reluctant to let Michael down, in the way she’s seen others do. So if Michael Burnham wants to cuddle up with the woman once famed for allowing no one to sleep in her bed, she’s not going to say ‘no’ to her.

She takes note of the way Michael’s body relaxes, and her breathing deepens, and feels a sense of relief when she is certain that the young woman’s fallen asleep. “Computer, privacy protocol,” she says quietly, not wanting anyone to disturb the young woman’s sleep. She presses kisses to Michael’s face, glad to see it’s relaxed and open instead of screwed up in pain, then she closes her own eyes the better to concentrate as she gives thought to _Discovery_ ’s ongoing situation. She is definitely not going to fall asleep cuddled up to Michael Burnham – the idea is patently absurd.

(Half an hour later, she’s fast asleep, cuddled up to Michael.)


End file.
